Crazy for You
by brambernut
Summary: An alternative S6 fic involving some of your favourite characters from the show, both alive and those who have been 'deleted'. I don't own the characters, except for Pandora, though the concept of the plot is mine.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

'_These are the keys to my heart…'_

Amber now clutched them protectively to her chest, and held them right by her heart. She remembered clearly the day he gave them to her…they were only a set of rusty keys on an even rustier keychain, but they meant more to Amber than anything else he gave her. They told her that he was serious about her, about them.

Oh, Bray! Ever since splitting up with Jay, she couldn't stop thinking about her one true love. For three weeks practically non-stop she had locked herself in her room, and refused to come out. Her room was her sanctuary, where she allowed herself to cry all those tears she had held back for such a long time. She was the leader – she had to be strong for everyone, and for her son. Smiling through her tears, she crossed the room to gaze at him – he was the spitting image of Bray, and Amber knew he would be proud to be his father. She had even called him Bray Jr. in honour of his great dad. Now he was all she had left of him.

She had desperately tried to make things work out with Jay; she was physically attracted to him, she knew he'd be a good father figure to Bray Jr., and she knew he was a decent, moralistic guy, but he just wasn't Bray! No matter how much she told herself that Bray wasn't coming back and that Jay wanted to be with her – he had even professed his love for her – she couldn't bring herself to say it back. Amber had only ever told one man that she loved him, and that was Bray!

Trudy peered around the corner of the mall to where she knew Amber would be – in her room, as per usual. She couldn't believe how much her best friend was missed around the mall. In those three weeks since she had been away from her duty as leader, the functioning of the mall was chaotic. Virtually every adult had attempted to take over from Amber, but it was proving near impossible to restore the calm they had come to expect. How was she ever supposed to get Brady of to sleep in the madness that was occurring all around her? And who would organise the tribe to be prepared for the oncoming power struggle they were certain would occur now that the Technos has been defeated. Everyone wanted to be top dog, and all the tribes were fighting amongst themselves to take over the place the Technos had left behind when they were beaten by the mallrats, and several other allies.

The mallrats had come to the logical conclusion that somebody had to talk Amber into coming back. And being both Amber's best friend, and close to Bray, Trudy was decided upon. Amber was in the strange position where she was respected by the children and adults alike, and what she said was generally accepted without questioning – except for Lex of course, who was so big-headed he believed he could run the whole thing single-handedly, despite his huge failure when he tried to do just that! No, Trudy decided, Amber had to come back, to save them all from themselves! But how?

Trudy approached the door to Amber and Bray's room. She tapped gently, but nobody stirred. She put her ear to the door, and was about to leave when she heard sniffling noises from inside.

"Amber, Amber please let me in!" she begged her friend.

"Trudy, just go away! I don't wanna talk." came the response.

Again Trudy tried, "Amber, I understand what you're going through, so please let me in!", but again Amber refused.

Trudy had to report to the others about her failure. They decided to try one by one to get through to Amber, but it seemed that nobody or nothing could help her to overcome her grief long enough for her to become leader and restore the peace. Lex remained the only one not to have a go, and the others were dubious about even permitting him to try, what with him always winding her up, and saying the wrong thing, but, as Siva pointed out, what did they have to lose – she was already lodged indefinitely in her room.

Lex went off to try to diffuse the situation. This reminded him of when it was Patsy's birthday, and it was not long after Sasha had left. He had asked Amber to go with him then, and she had turned him down saying that she had too many responsibilities. Well if his memory served him right, she had stayed in her room then for days on end, even managing to spoil Patsy's birthday. He felt the anger bubble up inside of him, and he decided that there was no way he was gonna let her let the tribe disintegrate because of her lack of interest. And who did she think she was? He was so sick and tired of hearing everyone talking about Amber. It was all he ever heard about nowadays, and it wasn't even as if he had never lost anyone before. With that thought, his mind drifted onto Zandra – she had been his wife, before she died, - and he had loved her dearly, but now he had Siva. He turned his thoughts back onto the task at hand…Amber.

He swiftly approached her door, but unlike the others, he banged on it quite hard, and his cries of "Amber, let me in!" thundered across the whole of the mall.

May ran out into the corridor, and upon realising that it was only Lex said,

"Oh, I thought it was Pride….! He's been missing for a few days now, and I'm convinced something awful has happened to him! I'm so worried he's lying on the streets somewhere injured!"

"Look May," began Lex, "I haven't seen or heard from Pride for a long time, and I reckon you'll be lucky if you ever see him again!"

Lex had noticed over the past few months that Pride had started to get strong feelings for Salene again, and therefore was battling with his emotions on a daily basis. He knew that Salene was trying to find Ryan in a bid to try and save her marriage, and also that he didn't want to hurt May, but Pride knew he couldn't keep stringing her along. However, when May confessed that she loved him, he knew then that he couldn't bear to break her heart. So he came to the conclusion that it would be best to leave without telling anyone of his plans; not even Amber. That's not to say that he didn't trust Amber enough, but with her recent rollercoaster of emotions, he didn't want to be the one to tip her over the edge. But when he was raiding the food cupboard for his rations to take with him on his journey, he awoke Lex. Lex had thought it was a Demon Dog, or a Loco, and took a baseball bat with him in order to scare the prowler, but he wasn't prepared to greet Pride. After some probing questions, Pride caved in, and told Lex about his plans to leave that night. He made Lex promise not to blab to anyone – not to Amber, and certainly not to May! Lex didn't understand, but he gave his word, and Lex was a man of his word.

"Why?" persisted May. "You know something don't you? Lex if you know anything, please tell me!"

Lex shook his head, and turned to face the challenge of getting Amber to even answer the door to him.

So May returned to her room, as she realised she would get nothing more from Lex.

Lex knew he was in a rough time with Amber here, and made a mental note that, after this, he would never get involved in women's business ever again.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

It was a month since Amber had holed herself up in her room, and following a chat with Lex – actually it was more like an argument – she realised how selfish she had been, and re-instated herself as leader of the Mallrats once again. However, she was completely unprepared for the events that had unfolded in her absence: Pride's shock departure; Jay and Lex in a bitter struggle for control of the militia; Cloe's pregnancy – she felt like she had just entered into a circus as opposed to her own tribe!

Today was the day she was to meet with the other tribe leaders at the hotel. She was feeling very nervous and unsure of what to expect, and worried about what was still to come – how could she help restore peace to the city when she couldn't even restore peace in her own tribe.

"Hi, Amber", Jay said bashfully upon seeing her in the breakfast bar.

_Damn it, he still had feelings for her! He should have moved on by now, just like she had!_

Ever since she had broken up with Jay, she had been trying to avoid him, but she knew she couldn't avoid him for ever. He was a confidante and a trusted friend, but more than that, she had come to rely on him for moral support, and to help her to help control the city.

"Hi, Jay! Didn't see you there! Listen, are you ready for this meeting that Ebony has called for all the tribal leaders? I can't believe that she has taken over the Locos again!" Amber rambled. She felt unsure of how to act around him, considering their history, and feeling embarrassed, she blushed. Jay, however, mistook this as a sign of her continual sentiments for him, and moved closer to her.

"Well look who it isn't!"

Lex had just marched in, and Amber had never been so delighted to see such blatant rudeness from him. After all, she didn't love Jay anymore, did she?! Not that anything would have happened without Lex's presence there, but for once she was pleased to hear the on-going debate as to whether Jay should train and lead the militia, or whether Lex and Dee ought to, considering how well they had done heading all security operations for the past few months. Her mind drifted back to the dispute.

"But why not?" whined Lex. "Dee and I have built a rapport with the militia, and they trust us. You would be starting straight from scratch, and that takes time; time is something we just don't have!"

Siva walked up to them, having been awoken by all the commotion, and snaked her arms round Lex's shoulders.

"You know, that actually makes a lot of sense, Jay! You've gotta admit it!"

"Aw, thanks babe!" replied Lex quite cockily now that he had someone on his side, and planted a kiss on Siva's lips.

Jay moaned, "Yeah, but you're biased, Sive! Amber, you're impartial. Who would do a better job – me or Lex?"

Amber shook her head in despair. "Guys, we don't have the time to discuss this now. Jay, are you coming? Let's brace ourselves, cause knowing Ebony, this'll be hel/!"

"I'm sure it won't be that bad! She's not a bad person you know! She just…," faltered Jay.

"Come on!" sighed Amber, "She can't be as bad as Ram was, I suppose. I just hope her main priority is to find all those prisoners the Technos had captured but never returned to us!"

Jay let out a heavy sigh as he lolled behind and watched Amber march on ahead. Why couldn't she forget all about Bray? It's not as though he was gonna come back, and everybody would just continue smoothly from then on anyway! She was wasting her life away, consumed by the memory of Bray, when Jay was there ready and waiting for her whenever she was ready. He couldn't help but love her, despite her many faults. Love was blind, he guessed, but love was very painful too, especially when he suspected that she felt more for him than she would let herself feel! Oh well, he thought. He would wait til eternity if he had to just to be loved by her as much as she was loved by him. And if his suspicions were proved true, it wouldn't be long now!

"Come on, Jay!"

Not long now!


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Ebony was marching around the room uncomfortably. She **knew** this had to be said, but she was anxious as to the others' reactions. She knew that Amber and Jay hated her anyway – Amber, ever since Bray had been on the scene; Jay, because she had broken his heart, once upon a time when he still loved her. Now, like Bray had before him, he had latched onto Amber, and followed her around like a lost puppy dog. Love, he called it; pathetic is what Ebony thought!

There was a knock on the door. She knew who it was, and she greeted him warmly. He hadn't felt such emotion for a long time, and certainly never expected to be feeling like that about Ebony. She had really seemed to change her life around, and despite his earlier feelings, he was surprised by the new Ebony – this was a major turnaround from the girl he once knew.

"So, Ebs, what's on the agenda for today? Gonna terrorise another sector, and hold lots of people prisoners, huh?" he asked playfully.

In mock shock, "I thought you knew me better than that, hun! I really am trying to change my life around!"

"Why? Are you trying to prove something to me or you?" he questioned.

Then a guard tapped at the door to her room. Changing back to work mode, she told him to enter.

"Well, Domino, what's the problem? I told you not to disturb me unless it was important!" Ebony barked at him.

"Yes, my lady, but I just thought you'd like to know that the leaders of the mallrats and the leaders of the demon dogs have arrived!" Domino replied, quivering at the sight of his mistress so annoyed with him.

"Domino, you go and tell them that I'll be there as soon as I can. And you", she said, turning to her visitor, "you really need to have a bath! No offence, but you really reek!" Ebony laughed.

With that, Domino left the room.

"Cheers, Ebs! I always knew I could rely on you to flatter someone!" he joked. "But wait a sec; didn't he just say that the mallrats are here? I mean what about…?"

"I'm sorry hun, but she's not interested! How many times to I have to tell you? She's moved on, and she even said to me that she never wants to speak to or about you ever again!" Ebony lied.

"Oh…!" he replied, drooping his head. "But after everything we went through together…are you sure she knows that I'm still alive?"

"Are you accusing me of lying to you? I promise, she said…" Ebony tailed off.

"I guess I just miss her!" he said. "Anyway," he responded, much more cheerfully, "I'm off to have that bath, since even my friends think I stink!"

"See you later!"

"Later!"

He left the room, and Ebony's smile dropped as she began to think about how she'd just lied to him. She loved him so much, and Amber had nothing on her! She had so much to offer him, in comparison to that 'Miss Prissy', as she had come to think of her love rival.

Domino knocked on the door again.

"Didn't I just tell you to go and have a bath!?" she said bashfully, as she opened the door, only to be greeted by her guard and not the person she'd hoped to see.

"Excuse me, my lady, but the leaders are all getting restless. What should I say to them?"

"Nothing at all", Ebony sighed heavily. "I'm coming right now!"

Ebony shook away the images she had formed in her mind of the two of them in her hot tub together, and forced herself to think of the announcement she had to make. This would not be pleasant at all, if she knew anything about the other tribal leaders, and she prided herself on being very knowledgeable of them all. But soon, it would be just her and Bray, and then the real fireworks would start!


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Cloe was lying in bed. She couldn't believe that this would be her life for the next eight months. She hadn't planned this pregnancy; she didn't even want the baby, but she knew that the father wouldn't approve of her rejecting the child, so it looked as though she was stuck for now! If only it hadn't happened! They both knew how much her pregnancy upset Ellie, but she couldn't have controlled her ever growing feelings for Jack, and considering that they weren't a couple anymore, there was no reason why Cloe and Jack shouldn't have been together.

For Cloe, too, the impact of carrying Jack's baby was enormous! She had truly believed that she and Jack were the real thing when they had slept together, but seeing the devastation and hurt caused not only to Ellie, but to Ved too, she had realised that she was in love with Ved, not Jack. If only the baby was Ved's…!

There was a thud outside of the mall and a lot of muffled noise that sounded like angry shouts. Cloe, being the curious girl that she was, got up to investigate the source of all the commotion. She knew that she shouldn't be getting out of bed, but she needed to stretch her legs, and she wanted to know what was going on. Still feeling weak, she struggled out of the room, grasping onto the nearest object, and pushing one leg before the other.

"CLOE! What are you doing? You should be in bed! Your blood pressure's hardly gonna go down if you're walking around, and doing strenuous exercise!"

"Ved," Cloe exclaimed, practically falling into his arms. "I thought I was here on my own! I heard a noise, and I was…well scared, I guess!" she replied sheepishly.

"I'm gonna take you back to bed and then I'LL go and see what's happening!" Ved answered masterfully.

Ved helped Cloe back to her room, and back into bed.

"I'm gonna go and let you rest!"

"No, wait Ved!" Cloe begged. "Don't leave me! Stay here and keep me company!" she said, placing her hand on his arm, as he turned to leave.

"I'll only bore you, Clo. I don't have any news really!" Ved responded.

In a quiet voice, still with her hand on his arm, she replied, "You could never bore me, Ved! Please don't leave me alone! Barely anyone comes to see me, and I miss their company…I miss you!"

Ved sat himself down, uncomfortably, on the chair next to the bed. She was so beautiful in spite of her bed hair, and her teddy bear pyjamas. But she also looked so vulnerable; as though she needed someone to protect her. That used to be his job, and he had loved it! He loved having her on his arm, so that everybody could see that she was his girl. And God he loved her so much; but things would never be the same again between them. She was carrying someone else's baby, and not just anyone else, but Jack's! Jack, his best friend!

As though she could read his thoughts, Cloe asked tenderly,

"Is there no way that we could be together again?"

"Cloe, you're having someone else's baby! I think that says it all!" Ved thundered.

"We could raise the baby as yours! I still love you, Ved!" Cloe said timidly.

Ved couldn't believe the nerve of her, and declared incredulously, "No, Cloe! It's over! You can't pretend you never cheated on me with Jack! Every time I look at the baby, it would be a constant reminder of what you did, and it would only destroy us in the end!"

Ved walked slowly to the door, determined not to let her see how much she had gotten to him. At the door, he paused and turned to face her, adding, "And if you love me, as you say you do, why did you sleep with Jack? Why, Cloe? You never told me, and I think I have a right to know!"

"I don't know the answer to that! I really don't! I wish that I did, because it was the worst mistake of my life! You're everything to me! I love you with my heart and soul! You are my life!" Cloe replied, tears rolling down her cheeks, her eyes all blotchy from crying.

Ved exited the room, leaving Cloe there in a numb state. She had really lost him, and it was all her fault. He only just made it to his room, pushing past Mouse, Sammy, Trudy and Brady, and Siva, on the way, before he eventually gave in to his emotions.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

The noise from outside was becoming more and more rowdy, and getting more and more out of hand. The mallrats could barely hear themselves think. Usually, this would be Amber's job to deal with the angry tribe members, who still blamed the mallrats for their loved ones not being returned from captivity. These tribes thought that because the mallrats had finally brought down the technos, that it was their obligation to return all the prisoners.

However, Amber was still at the tribal leaders meeting with Jay and Ebony, so it was down to Lex to organise the remaining members of the tribe. After much discussion, and many minutes wasted, it was decided that Lex, Jack, Siva, Dee, Ved and Ellie would go. Trudy was to look after the babies (Brady and Bray Jr) and take care of Cloe, whilst May, who was still lost without Pride, was put in charge of looking after Lottie, Sammy and Mouse with limited help from Gel, who was busy applying her make-up.

Lex and co. went out of the mall, and faced the screaming crowds, who were hurling abuse at the poor mallrats.

Lex began to speak, but his words were drowned out by an eruption in the crowd.

"I SAID, BE QUIET!" Lex ordered.

As if by magic, everyone instantaneously shut up, and veneered towards Lex, as though inclined to listen to what he had to say.

Taking this as a good sign, Lex decided to take a gentler approach,

"I know why you guys are here! You want to see your loved ones again! And for some crazy reason, you think we know where they are – well, we don't!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd went into chaos once more as crowd members stood there in disbelief.

Seeing the reaction to Lex's stance, Ellie pushed past him to talk next. About to protest, Lex felt Siva's hand on his right shoulder, and she told him to give her a chance.

Ellie started, "_I_ DO know what you're feeling!"

The crowd, having heard Lex begin in the same way, instantly began to boo her, but Ellie was a lot stronger than Lex, and continued, "I'm still waiting for my sister to come home."

Hearing Ellie talk so passionately made silence fall on the waiting people.

"She means the world to me, and I miss her like mad! She had always been more to me than just my sister, though. She was my mum, my sister and my best friend all rolled into one. She may have appeared tough on the outside, but it was just an act. I don't know why she was taken prisoner – she posed no threat to anyone, least of all the technos!"

Ellie paused to catch her breath and to collect her thoughts before carrying on,

"I know you came here demanding answers; well, we haven't got any! Yes, we defeated the technos – many of you joined us, and enabled us to do so – but despite continual searches all over the sector, we still haven't found these last groups of prisoners. You're all looking for someone to blame, but trust me; it's not the mallrats you want to blame! We are suffering just as you are, and we are angry just as you are! We feel your pain, and we are doing everything possible, so if anybody here knows anything, no matter how small, or how insignificant you think it is, you must inform us. Cause I want to get my sister back and I know you all wanna get your relatives and loved ones back too!"

Applause came from all directions as Ellie finished her speech. Tears were collecting in her eyes, as she had been forced to dig up the memory of her sister being captured. This was something she had pushed to the back of her mind, as she knew that if she dwelled on it too much, it would be too painful for her.

Jack was stupefied as to what to do. He wanted to be there for Ellie, as he saw how much she was hurting, but he didn't know what he could sensibly say that would somehow improve the situation. He wasn't very good at expressing how he felt when there were lots of people around anyway, and watched miserably as Siva and May put their arms around her and led her back into the mall. He gave a deep sigh, and followed them. Lex took charge of the situation, and ordered the other tribes to leave. He allocated different areas and tribes to each of the remaining mall rats.

As they finished, Ved exclaimed, "Phew, that was close! I thought they were gonna storm the mall, and attack Clo…!"

Catching him talking so fondly about Cloe, Dee remarked, "Ah-ha! So you do still like Cloe then! I thought you were over her? At least that's what you told me a few days after you found out about the baby, and Jack!"

"Well…" Ved mumbled, "even if I do, she's got Jack, now, and their baby. She doesn't need me anymore! I was just a distraction!"

"Are you stupid, or what man!" Lex queried. "Can't you see that Cloe's crazy for you? She loves you so much, and she never shuts up about you! Man, she drives me nuts with all her crazy talk!"

"But then why did she sleep with Jack? If she loves me so much, then why did she cheat on me with – of all people – my best mate?" Ved answered in bewilderment.

"Have you never done something stupid you later regretted? Have you never made any mistakes? You've never cheated on Cloe? Not even in the beginning?"

Adamantly, Ved replied, "Yeah, but Lex, that was in the beginning of the relationship though! Before we became serious! Before we exchanged, 'I love you's! This is different!"

Lex said insistently, "But Cloe forgave you, right? Every time? Well maybe you should forgive her! Feelings like those just don't go away, yeah? Believe me, I should know, having lost two wives, now. I loved them both in different ways, and I still do, somewhere in my heart, but I never got the chance to tell them exactly how I felt about them. See that you don't leave anything unsaid with Cloe, even if you decide not to be together."

Lex ushered Dee inside the mall, and followed her, leaving Ved outside with nothing more than his own thoughts.

Did Cloe still love him; she said she did, and he wanted desperately to believe her. He thought he could overcome her minor indiscretion with Jack, but there was still one thing that lay in their path to happiness – the baby. How could he bear to bring up another man's baby in the knowledge that that baby ought to be his and Cloe's! He knew he would love it, as it was part Cloe, but at the same time, he would hate it, as it was also part Jack! What should he do?

Above, Cloe had been watching through her window. After a good rest, she felt her legs were strong enough to withstand a little light exercise, and in any case, she wanted to make sure that Ved was alright. She saw him standing on the now empty street, tormented by his own thoughts, and she just wanted to reach out to him and have him envelop her in his arms, saying that everything would be fine from now on….but whether or not that would happen was down to Ved now!


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Ebony entered the room dramatically, sweeping her coat as she did, determined that even if they didn't agree with her proposal, they'd at least be talking about her. Ebony loved drama, especially when she was the cause of it! Everyone swivelled their chairs to face her, after all, she had called this tribal leaders' meeting, and created all the mystery by not explaining her reasons for doing it.

Jay was the first to speak.

"So come on, Ebony, don't keep us in suspense any longer…we were told you had this big announcement…well aren't you gonna share it with the rest of us?"

Ebony sighed. Why was it that Jay had to rush everything? She wanted to butter them all up before she dropped her bombshell! She could see though, that Jay and Amber weren't gonna budge…too much old history threatened to resurface between them, and she certainly didn't want that to happen…although she'd enjoy seeing her arch enemy squirm at having to explain her love life in a room full of nutters and psychos – and that's what most of them were, Ebony reasoned. She accepted that Amber and Jay had logical, moralistic reasons why they hated Ebony, and felt uneasy by the type of power Ebony commanded, but the other tribes were only there, in reality, to cause chaos. They still felt loyal to Zoot, and the Locos, and whilst Ebony now held the position of the leader of the Locos, they still turned against her, as they believed that she turned against their god when she became a mallrat.

Ebony smiled.

"You always were impatient, Jay! In fact, I think that led partly to our break-up; you wanted more than I was ready to give…!"

Jay blushed. He didn't want to have to recall his doomed relationship with Ebony in front of Amber, but also, he felt bad for Amber having to sit there and listen to how much he had loved Ebony. He truly believed that deep down, Amber still wanted him, and as long as he believed that, there was no way he would give up on her. Jay opened his mouth to retaliate with something equally emotive, but a woman with bright electric blue hair and piercing green eyes, got in there first.

"For God sake, Ebony! First of all, you send out this mysterious invite to a meeting with you. Then, you intentionally keep us waiting for half an hour, and now you're trying to bu/lsh*t us with your romantic life, which, trust me, isn't that interesting! Now, can you tell us what this is all about, before I walk out of here?"

This one spelt trouble, Ebony feared. She had known Pandora for years – not friends as such, but more of an acquaintance. They didn't exactly like one another; more like they tolerated each other. But lately, Pandora had attempted to cause mayhem for the Locos, and given Ebony the run around on several occasions, and whilst Ebony knew that she ought to punish her for her actions, she held her in great respect too.

She faced the others in the room and decided that now was the time to start talking.

"So, you wanna know why you're all here, huh?" Ebony questioned.

She was greeted by unanimous nods. Contented that she now held the power, once more, she continued her speech.

"I, Ebony, leader of the Locos, invited you all here to…"

They were all on tenterhooks now, and Jay almost exploded,

"WHY?"

Still smiling that sickly sweet smile of hers, and having ensured that the whole room was listening to her, Ebony carried on.

"To work with me!" she finished triumphantly.

Staring at the beaming Ebony, Amber was as confused now, as she was when she first left the mall to come here.

"I still don't follow. What do you mean, 'to work with you'? Amber challenged.

"Look…I know that I promised to create schools for the kids to study in properly, and that I would get more medical supplies for the hospital, but the truth is, that we haven't got any! We won't be able to get to sector five before Thursday at the very least, and even then, we might not be able to make it."

When she saw the looks of utter incredulousness, Ebony tried to explain herself. "Look, we're stretched out as it is trying to secure the city, and make it a safer place to live and trade in. My men are doing their best to inform the different tribes daily of any news of the lost prisoners…we're trying to tidy the city up, too and then, on top of all that, we constantly have to fight off all those other tribes who take it upon themselves to make my life harder!"

Ebony said all this whilst staring pointedly at Pandora. Pandora, however, wasn't intimidated easily, and gazed back at Ebony with that piercing look of hers. "And quite rightly so! You may have some leadership qualities," Pandora conceded, "but you're no replacement for Zoot! Stop trying to appear whiter than white. You know full well it was you that trashed our bunker last week and told one of my youngsters some cock and bull story about how, if he didn't renounce me as his leader and come to you, he'd die a slow, painful death very soon….! I never liked you before all this happened, Ebony, but at least I respected you for being true to yourself; now, I think you're scum!"

Having heard that, others started hacking into Ebony too, calling her names, saying that she was a s/ut, and that the only way she ever got close to the top of the Locos, was by sleeping her way up! This led to a huge slanging match back and forth between Ebony, Pandora and everyone else in the room with Ebony fighting back well.

During all this uproar, Amber took off. She couldn't handle it any longer; this was typical of Ebony to call a meeting, not to tell good news, but to let everyone down. If she even felt the slightest bit sorry, she wouldn't mind, but Ebony hadn't changed; she guessed she never would. Her sweetness and light was just an act…and now there was no school and no hospital supplies, of which they were in desperate need, also.

Jay left the room in a hurry after her – Ebony would barely register their departures what with all the noise and screaming going on in there, and in any case, he had to find Amber. He didn't know exactly what it was that upset her so much, but something had, and he saw it as his duty to comfort her, and make her feel better again! After much searching, he eventually located her, sitting dejectedly on the front steps of the hotel, her head in her hands. She looked like an angel; he wanted so much to touch her, but refrained.

"Amber? Amber, what's wrong? Look, I'm sorry she brought up all that stuff about her and me, and our relationship – I didn't want her to; you saw me trying to stop her didn't you?" Jay began frantically trying to get through to the one he loved.

Amber snapped her head up at Jay's words.

"Why does everything have to be about you, Jay? Of course I'm not upset about you and Ebony…it happened! You can't re-write history Jay!"

"So if it's not me and Ebony that's upset you, what is it?" he wondered, a hurt expression written all over his face that registered in Amber's mind.

"I was upset about the hospital and school situations respectively, Jay! You know how much it means to me that the kids are schooled. I never appreciated education enough when we had it, but without it, I can see the world as we know it, crumbling and struggling to survive. And I gave my word to a dear friend that I would always see that the sick are treated, as long as I have breath in my body, and I'm not one to say something and not follow through! But I can't see a way out of this mess that Ebony has created! She wants us to support her stance on this to stop even more trouble coming her way…she's completely lost her mind!"

"God, Amber, let off some steam why don't you!" Jay joked.

"Jay, it's not funny! How can we school thousands of little kids, who wanna learn? Where will we get all the resources from? And as for the hospital, the one we have isn't nearly big enough to treat all the injured and dying people that walk through its doors every day. How will we cope, Jay?" Amber asked in despair, leaning her head on Jay's shoulders.

It felt good to have Amber so close, Jay thought to himself. He wished he had all the answers to her problems, but he didn't. He wished he was the one she dreamed about at night; the one she woke up longing to see one more time; he wished that he was the one who had fathered Bray Jr. and that they were living together as one big family unit. However, he'd settle for just being able to call Amber his own. To hold her, and to know that she loved him with all her heart the way she still did him. He could barely bring himself to mention his love rival's name. Bray. He hated him already, and he didn't even know the guy; had already painted him as the bad guy for walking out on his girlfriend whilst she was giving birth to their son, without even knowing why!

Unable to settle her ever-growing pile of worries, Jay stood up, causing Amber to rock slightly. "Come on, back to the mall… I'm sure they're all dying to know what happened here…!" Jay said.

Hearing his choice of words, Amber stormed off in a huff. Realising what he had said, Jay broke out into a run as he once again tried to apologise. He began to think to himself that no girl could be worth all the grief he was getting from Amber. He was sure he loved her, but there had to be an easier way than all this Mr Nice Guy stuff didn't there…it wasn't like she was crazy for it anyway. So maybe she wanted it rough! It seemed to Jay like Bray treated her rough, and talked to her with a great lack of respect, yet she would still take him back tomorrow if he walked in declaring his love for her.

So she wanted it rough, huh? Then Jay was gonna make sure that she got it rough!


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

The mallrats all stared at Amber and Jay in amazement. They had all gathered in the canteen to hear the news from the tribal leaders' meeting, but now that they had, they almost wished they hadn't. No school and no hospital supplies…..what were they gonna do?

Lex was the first to recover from the shock, and voiced the opinion that everyone was thinking,

"God, that's just like Ebony! I said she couldn't be trusted! Don't you remember me saying so? Well, now what? People are counting on us to deliver thanks to Jay!"

Trudy interrupted, "Wait a minute Lex! You can't blame all of this on Jay! He wasn't the one to break his promise…that was Ebony! If you ask me, this is all Ebony's fault!"

"You would say that about lover boy! So he didn't exactly break his promise, but he was the one who told the other tribes that he promised he would get the extra medical supplies for the hospital and he would ensure that a new school is up and running as soon as possible. Now as I see it, they're gonna be after our blood when the find out we can't give them what they were promised and that's Jay's fault. Who made him a mallrat anyway? Last time I checked, he was a Techno!" Lex ranted.

Trudy blushed furiously upon hearing Lex's words. She hadn't exactly made a secret of the fact that she liked Jay as more than a friend, but whilst Amber was still deliberating her feelings, she would never consider doing anything about them.

"Well while we're on this topic, since when did Siva become a mallrat?" Jay shot back.

"JAY! LEX! Stop it! This is getting us nowhere!" Amber pleaded.

Picking up on Trudy's embarrassment, Ellie turned the conversation back to the topic of what they were gonna do now they knew Ebony's stance.

"Look, Ebony's not gonna help us with the school or the medication we require, so we're gonna have to do something ourselves, and quickly if the crowd today are anything to go by!"

"Yeah," Siva agreed. "They were so mad at us, but Ellie was a legend; she really saved our necks."

"What crowd?" Amber queried inquisitively.

"Oh nothing!" said Lex sarcastically. "Just virtually everyone from just about every tribe in the sector….they just wanted to…..if I say that they were angry, it'd be an understatement – they were furious with us! And you weren't there to help us, cause you two were at some dumb meeting that Ebony called!"

Choosing to ignore the latter part of what Lex had just said, Amber asked,

"Why were they so angry at us? What did we do apart from taking down the Technos, and hence sparing the world from a life of torture and virtual reality?"

Ved spoke up here, "They believe that we know where the missing prisoners are being kept. They think that just because we defeated Ram and the others, that we must have discovered where they are…what they don't realise is that nobody but Ram…and maybe Mega, knew the exact location of the prisoners."

"Yeah right!" Lex scoffed. "So Ram never shared any of his secrets with you? You were his loyal followers….and it's not as though he could get up and feed them himself. It's obvious that you knew….or at least that SOMEBODY did! Jay…" he said, turning towards the former Techno, "…you were his second-in-command. You must have known where they were?"

Jay didn't like where the conversation was heading, as he knew that if this got much deeper he'd have a weeping Amber on his hands. He didn't want her to be thinking too deeply about the father of her son. If she never stopped talking about him, there was no chance that she would relinquish her heart to him. Of course he didn't know where the prisoners were, but even if he did…..there's no way he'd tell them…after all the time and effort he'd put into making Amber his, there was not a chance in he/l that he'd allow Bray to come waltzing in and snap her up from right under his nose! She already had tears glistening in her eyes.

"Sorry, Lex." Jay announced nonchalantly. "No idea….now can we get back to the matter in hand – the school and the medication. Anybody got any ideas?"

"Actually, I do," Ellie piped up. "Why don't we open a school here? There's plenty of space, and there are enough of us to act as teachers. It doesn't have to be all day….perhaps just for a couple of hours a day. Isn't it worth a try?"

Jack marvelled at his true love. He really regretted what had happened with Cloe. Even though he and Ellie had sort of broken up at the time, there was still the possibility of them getting back together…..at least there was before Cloe discovered that she was pregnant with his baby. He had always longed to be a father, but ever since he had gotten together with Ellie, he had always imagined her as the mother! He brought his thoughts back to what was going on around him in time to hear Amber excitedly say,

"You know what, that just might work! For a few hours a day, we can educate some of the kids around here!"

Seeing Lex's expression, she added,

"Look I know it's not ideal, but it's all we've got! We have to at least offer it up as a possibility, and if nobody's interested….well we tried!"

Jack suddenly had an idea.

"And I think I can help with the medicine thing…..remember Dal's father was a doctor? Well, his surgery's in sector three…I think I know where it is! There might be some medicines there that we can use…at least until Ebony can sort us out with some!"

Amber looked as though she could kiss him. She was so relieved that everyone seemed to be pulling together to find a solution to what had seemed like such an impossible situation. But there were something that still puzzled her….like why was Jay acting so shifty about his time with the Technos? She reasoned that maybe he was just embarrassed about it, but then what did he have to be embarrassed about? Sure he had caused pain and death even, but that was so far in the past she couldn't bear to think about it….he had changed so much since he had left the Technos and helped the Mallrats to overcome them. But not wanting to ask him in front of the others, and seeing them all buzzing about their new ventures, she left it alone, and resolved to ask him later.

Meanwhile, Jay was dreaming up situations where he could get Amber alone and force her to fall for him. Ebony hated Amber, and he knew that she was completely over him…..so perhaps he could count on her for help. He had decided that she wasn't worth waiting for…he wanted her now! With a little help from an old flame, he would ensure that he got her. After all, what Jay wanted, Jay always got!


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Arrgghh!"

An ear-piercing scream shattered the lively commotion in the canteen. It was coming from Cloe's room. Ved broke into a run, with Jack hot on his tails, the others not far behind. If anything happened to her, Ved didn't know how he'd manage to live with himself; Jack couldn't bear to think about any harm coming to his unborn child. He skidded to a halt outside her door, and Ved leaned heavily against the frame, forcing it to give way. The sight he was greeted with, however, made his heart turn over. Cloe was doubled up, screaming in complete agony. Normally so pragmatic, facing the situation that there was a problem with his baby, Jack was at a total loss as to what action to take.

"Move over, move over!" Trudy said, placing Brady in Lottie's care. She knew that having had a baby herself, she was probably the best person to calm Cloe. She also knew that Brady looked up to the older girl as a role model. Smiling secretively to herself at the sight of the two girls, Trudy turned her attention to the matter at hand – Cloe. She noticed that Amber, too, was rolling up her sleeves. Seeing the worried dejected looks on the faces of the fellow tribe members, Trudy took charge,

"Right, you guys. Cloe needs some peace and quiet for now, so everyone out of here! Yes that means you, too, Jack!"

"But….," Jack protested, "I'm the father. I should be there!"

"If there's any news, you'll be the first to know!" Amber claimed. "Please, Jack! You can't do anything to help her at the moment!"

The two girls shoved Jack out of the room, and faced a sobbing Cloe. Now, she was clutching her stomach, and was unable to stem the flow of tears running down her cheeks. Why was this happening to her? And despite Amber and Trudy's words claiming otherwise, Cloe knew instinctively that she was mis-carrying. True, she had never wanted the baby before now, but the truth of it was that the idea of being a mother had slowly started to creep up on her: when she dared to look outside; when she observed Trudy with Brady, Amber with Bray Jr.; when she listened to the happy laughter of the mallrat kids…..she had begun to love the life growing inside of her, and now it was gone….she knew that she was to blame. She was being punished for previously wishing it dead, and now it was. Regardless of the soothing comments being made, Cloe just wanted the earth to open up and to swallow her whole. After all, what did she have to live for now? Ved didn't want her, and she couldn't blame him….the one guy she had ever loved and she had blown it, just like she had blown everything that ever meant anything to her…her parents, Ved, her friendship to Jack, her friendship to Ellie and finally the life of her baby….it was all too much for Cloe; she felt her head grow heavy, her eyes started to droop and everything faded out of context.

She had been asleep for what had felt like hours, but may have been minutes – Cloe no longer had a sense of time. She heard hushed voices, and longed for Ved to come and hold her. To tell her that he would make things alright once more….but of course things would never be alright again! As her vision began to become more focused she recognised Amber's face staring down at her concerned. All at once, she tried to sit up, but suffered a huge blood rush to the head and had to lie back down again.

Amber whispered softly, "Cloe, Jack's been asking whether he can come in. He…."

Panic-stricken, Cloe replied, "No! I don't wanna see him! I can't bear to!"

"But, he's the father; he just wants to say his farewells, Clo! Surely you can't deny him that!"

Trudy tutted loudly.

"AMBER! She's just lost her baby! Do you think that maybe she's feeling vulnerable at the moment, and just wants to be left alone? Maybe she isn't ready to grieve publicly, with everybody surrounding her and analysing her every move. Give her some time to herself before she sees Jack….or Ved for that matter!"

"VED?" Cloe shrieked. "What's he doing here?"

"He came to see you of course! He still cares deeply for you Cloe! He's been worried sick, and together with Jack, he's been pacing outside of your room for hours just waiting to hear that you're fine!" Trudy declared.

"Oh please, please let me speak to him! He's the only person I want to see right now!" Cloe begged.

Amber and Trudy glanced at one another, and then at Cloe's excited face. How could they refuse her after the horrific ordeal she had just suffered?

"Go on then!" said Amber conceding, as Trudy motioned to open the door.

Jack and Ved's faces stared expectantly at her. Trudy beckoned Ved into the room, and motioned to Amber to leave the former lovebirds alone for a while. Jack was in utter disbelief.

"She doesn't wanna see me? But I'm the only one who knows what she's going through; that was my baby too, you know?" he argued angrily.

Ved entered the room, and Amber left. She and Trudy accompanied Jack to the canteen to ensure he was watered and nourished, due to the fact that he had been up all night waiting for a prognosis.

Ved stared almost numbly at Cloe. Her tear-stained face shone out in the otherwise darkened room. Her usually shining jet black hair fell lank down the sides of her face and stuck to the back of her neck; her sparkling emerald eyes had lost their gleam, and had aged the young beauty beyond her years. However, whenever he looked at her, Ved only saw her beauty. Her kindness, generosity, the way she could make him laugh, the fact that nobody had ever been able to make him happy the way he felt when he was with her. Her tired eyes gazed into his, and he felt such a rush of love towards her. She held her arms out to him and he grasped at the frail being in front of him. He held her tightly, and wiped away the fresh tears that were springing up in her eyes. Everything that had happened within the past few months was forgotten in light of the mis-carriage. It had taken such a tragedy to open his eyes to how short life really was, and to seize the day.

Ved opened his arms a fraction, and pulled Cloe away from himself,

"Look, babe! I know that this is probably the worst possible time to tell you this, but I love you! I really do Cloe! I know that it'll never replace the baby that you've just lost, but I've been thinking a lot lately….well, let's face it, I've had plenty of time to….and I really like the idea of being a father."

"What!" exclaimed an amazed Cloe. "You always said that being a parent was a mug's game! You said…!"

"Forget what I said, for a minute, Clo! I've changed my mind about it! I don't wanna be ancient and look back on my life and say, 'Oh this is all I managed to achieve!' I want more for myself, and I want more for us! I want us to have a baby together!" Ved persisted.

"Oh, Ved!" Cloe sighed. "That's what I want more than anything else in the world: you, me and our baby! And I want lots of them….lots of little Veds and little Cloes all running around causing chaos….that's my dream for the future!"

"No," Ved corrected. "That's our dream now!"

Cloe and Ved snuggled into one another on her bed and looked towards a brighter future. They knew that together, they could face anything, which was just as well, considering the challenges still ahead!


End file.
